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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24898060">Life Lessons and Hard Truths</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15'>SilenceIsGolden15</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo 2k19 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arguing, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Dehydration, False Accusations, Foster Kid Keith (Voltron), Gen, Prompt: Stranded/Lost, Self-Esteem Issues, Sick Keith (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Starvation, Stranded, Survival, Wilderness Survival, Worried Pidge, Worried Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:13:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,685</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24898060</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceIsGolden15/pseuds/SilenceIsGolden15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone wants to protect the people they love, but some people (like Keith) take it a step too far.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith &amp; Lance (Voltron), Keith &amp; Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo 2k19 [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1554010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>399</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bad Things Happen Bingo</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Life Lessons and Hard Truths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sorry this one took a little longer but ho-lee shit it's long. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was nine o’clock in the morning, and not for the first time, Keith was fantasizing about throwing Lance out of the airlock. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some might call him harsh for that. But those people had never spent two hours stuck in a shuttle with him, and no Hunk to distract him. Seriously, this kid could talk about anything-- it was Keith’s bad luck that with him around, Lance always seemed to default to arguing with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“God, how much longer?” groaned the Paladin in question, throwing his head back against the co-pilot's seat. “Couldn’t Allura have worm-holed us any closer to the supply depot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith rolled his eyes. This had to be the fifth time Lance had whined about this topic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably,” Keith responded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why didn’t she?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To punish me,” was Keith’s deadpan answer. Lance made a face at him, which Keith ignored by staring stonily out the windscreen, focusing on piloting. The supply depot was in sight, a little green dot in the distance. To the right was the glow of the system’s star, and far to the left was a gray planet Keith didn’t know the name of. The star map said it was uninhabited, but it served well enough as a landmark. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You kinda deserved that,” called Pidge from the back. She was sitting cross legged on top of one of the empty supply bins, tapping away at something on her gauntlet screen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Says you,” Lance retorted. “You’re a computer nerd, you’re used to sitting still for hours. Not all of us are robots.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge just sighed and muttered to no one in particular, “I keep telling Allura not to put Lance with us, but does she listen? Nooooo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith covered his smile with his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something flashed in the corner of his vision. He tried to blink it away, but it persisted, and it was getting brighter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is that?” Lance asked, bracing his hand on the side of his helmet to shade his eyes. Keith leaned forward to peer around him and was nearly blinded by the pillar of light streaking towards their shuttle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>From the star, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Keith realized, and within a second he jerked the controls to the side, sending the shuttle into a roll. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was too little, too late. The solar flare tore over the shuttle’s right wing, knocking them far off course and into a tailspin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instinct kicked in. One wing and its thruster were out and the flare had increased their momentum tenfold-- if he couldn’t aim them at something to hit, they could spiral forever. His brain wasn’t processing the chaos around him; the solar flare was still filling the cockpit with light, and Lance and Pidge were screaming, but Keith’s focus shrank to himself and the shuttle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a short burst from the left thruster, Keith managed to get them stabilized, then pointed the shuttle at the nearest planet-- the little gray one he’d so easily dismissed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Here’s an interesting tidbit about Altean technology: the Altean-made shuttles didn’t have brakes. Maybe they had assumed everyone who flew them would be able to perfectly calculate their incoming inertia and the impact of the planet’s atmosphere, but Keith didn’t have that ability. All he could do was try to keep them above the ground until they slowed down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keith, do something!” Lance screamed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you think I’m doing?” he shouted back as the planet filled the windscreen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hit the atmosphere like a curb at sixty miles per hour. Keith’s entire body jolted, but he kept a white knuckled grip on the controls. They passed through the gray clouds in less than a second, and Keith barely had time to register that the ground was the same slate shade before he had to focus on pulling the controls up with all of his strength so that they didn’t nosedive right into the rock. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One thing he couldn’t control was the shaking. The whole shuttle rattled at the seams, making Keith feel like he was in a dryer set to tumble. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keith!” squealed Pidge from somewhere in the back. “Please tell me you have a plan!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith just ground his teeth and snapped back, “Brace for impact!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shuttle bounced as its belly scraped the ground, giving them a few more feet of air before they hit for real and dug in, dirt being thrown up outside the windows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time they skidded to a full stop, Keith’s whole body hurt. His biceps screamed at him as his ears rang-- the silence and settling dust felt foreign after all of that chaos. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a pained groan, he asked, “Everybody ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance thumped the ceiling with one hand and swore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take that as a yes,” Keith grunted. “Pidge?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m good.” Her voice was thin. “Really wish I was wearing a seatbelt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith smacked a button on the dash, and to his relief the top of the shuttle lifted away as it was supposed to, letting him climb out with only minimal wincing. That’s when he got his first good look at the planet they’d landed on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If you looked up ‘desolate’ in the dictionary, there would be a picture of this placed next to it. The ground was rocky and barren, the same gray as the sky and the thick clouds above. The shuttle had carved a groove through the earth, so long that it disappeared from sight. Keith winced again at the sight of it, and the shredded right wing, before he went to the door on the back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The back of the shuttle was a mess of crates and boxes, some in pieces and others with dents in their metal sides. Pidge was just climbing out from underneath one of them when he arrived.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pidge, you ok?” he asked, holding a hand out to her. She let him pull her up and rolled one of her shoulders with a grimace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think so. Bumps and bruises. You?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine too!” Lance called at them from outside. “In case anyone cares!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith and Pidge shared an exasperated look before going to join him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh,” said Pidge when she saw the landscape. “Delightful place to crash land.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance shuffled over to join them, hunching his shoulders against the wind, which felt chilly even through their space-worthy suits. “You can say that again. Pidge, will you please get our S.O.S signal up so we can get off this damn rock?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, ok, give me a sec, jeez.” She held up her arm and opened the screen on her gauntlet. Keith folded his arms over his chest and swept his eyes over the land, doing a three-sixty. The planet reminded him of the one he and Shiro had crashed on after the wormhole debacle-- hopefully there wouldn’t be any killer lizard-creatures out to get them this time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh, that’s weird.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith turned to see Pidge frowning at her gauntlet, which was never a good thing. “What’s weird?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge didn’t answer right away. She poked at the screen a few times, like hitting a button harder would help, then shook her head in annoyance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My signal isn't getting out. I think it’s the atmosphere. It’s super thick, and whatever those clouds are made of is resistant to our frequency like a brick wall.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Lance griped. He’d been pacing while Pidge was hacking, and now he kicked at the ground like it had personally offended him-- which it kind of had. “Because nothing can ever be easy. No, not for us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith huffed a sigh, but for the moment tried not to respond to Lance’s dramatics. He needed to keep them focused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If our signals can’t get out, I assume none from the Castle can get in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge grimaced and answered, “Looks that way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what do we do now?” Lance strode over to where Keith and Pidge were standing with a scowl fixed on his face. “Just sit here and wait while the others search every planet between the Castle and the depot?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe,” answered Keith tightly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe not,” said Pidge, tapping away on her screen. “A preliminary scan of the area says there’s a spot where the atmosphere is thinner, maybe enough for a signal to get through. But it’s a bit of a hike.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much of one?” Keith asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge hit a couple more buttons, then said, “Calculating based on average human walking speed and assuming there won’t be any unforeseen disasters… three days.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance groaned like his life was ending. But Pidge distracted Keith from it with her solemn expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you think? Should we risk it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His first response was one of instinctual panic-- </span>
  <em>
    <span>why was she asking him?-- </span>
  </em>
  <span>before he got it under control. He’d lived out in the desert for a year, Pidge knew that, and Lance wasn’t exactly stepping up to the leadership plate. He was just the best option. It didn’t have anything to do with what Shiro kept talking about. So he took a breath to steady himself and concentrated on the question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should. If they figure out which planet we’re on before we get there, it won’t be hard to follow our trail.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance stared at him, a look of shock and offense on his face. “What? You want us to </span>
  <em>
    <span>walk? </span>
  </em>
  <span>For </span>
  <em>
    <span>three days? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Is that even possible?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge sighed. “Yes, Lance, it’s possible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He opened his mouth again to argue, and Keith’s patience promptly snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanna stay here by yourself? Be my guest. I’m sure fate will smile on you this time and there won’t be any carnivorous aliens out there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance sputtered out something, but Keith didn’t bother to decode it. He just turned to Pidge, said, “I’ll go get the emergency kit,” and headed back into the battered shuffle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took some searching, especially with all of the storage cupboards labelled in Altean, but eventually by the process of trial and error he found the right one, marked with some kind of arrow insignia. Inside was a white cloth satchel with the same insignia on it in blue, two tiny foil squares (which Keith knew from the wormhole incident would expand into blankets), four large pouches of water, and four things of food goo, vacuum sealed like MRE’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instantly Keith saw the problem. Rationed correctly, those could be enough supplies for a three day trip-- for two people. For three? Not even close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting back on his heels, Keith took a moment to work it out in his head. He could go without food. It would suck, but he could do it, and he might even get a little if Lance and Pidge put themselves in survival mode. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Water would be a bigger problem. He’d lived in the desert all his life, he knew how important it was, and he also knew how unlikely it was for them to find anything even remotely drinkable in this wasteland. But he also knew his limits. He could ration the water a little more strictly than the food, drink half as much as Lance and Pidge, who wouldn’t be used to going without like he was, and it would be fine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’ll be fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he said to himself as he stacked the supplies in the bag. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s only three days. It’ll be fine. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And anyway, wasn’t this what Shiro wanted him to practice? Leaders made sacrifices for their teams. Shiro would do the same if it was him there instead of Keith.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance and Pidge were waiting for him outside, the former seeming despondent, the latter resolved. They both perked up when he exited the shuttle, so Keith settled his expression into something he hoped was leaderly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do we have?” Pidge asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough to make it,” Keith answered. “If we’re careful.” Keith wasn’t a great liar, but you don’t get to be a troublemaker without knowing how to mislead, at the very least. In this case Pidge nodded, taking him at his word, and Lance just hung his head in defeat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” Keith looked to Pidge. “Lead the way, genius.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge offered him a crooked smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And they were off. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Patience yields focus. Patience yields focus. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He chanted it over and over in his head, and it was the only thing keeping Keith from completely losing his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’d been walking for three hours. Their feet left clear marks in the dense dirt behind them, even with the ever-blowing cold wind, a physical reassurance that they were on the right track on top of Pidge’s electronic map. And aside from those footsteps and that wind, the only sound was Lance’s unending whining. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe you let us crash!” he was saying, for probably the hundredth time. “Number one pilot in the Garrison and you can’t even avoid a solar flare?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith gnawed on the inside of his cheek. That kept him from shouting, but he couldn’t help a snippy response. “If you would’ve preferred tumbling off into the infinite void of space, all you gotta do is say so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe I would have,” Lance shot back. “At least then our signals could get to the Castle and we wouldn’t have to walk ourselves to death.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not going to die, drama queen--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you two give it a rest?” snapped Pidge from the head of their column. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That got Lance to shut up for about two minutes before he started up again. He turned around to face Keith and walked backwards, asking, “Can I get a sip of water?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even through his visor, Keith saw Lance jut his lip out in a pout. “Why not? You let Pidge have some whenever she asks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because Pidge doesn’t ask every ten minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, for crying out loud.” Pidge stopped in her tracks, bringing their whole procession to an abrupt halt. Turning on her heel with an exasperated huff, she said to them both, “How about this. We all have a sip now, and then set a timer. We all get another mouthful every hour. Alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only one?” Lance whined, until Pidge’s knife gaze shut him up. Then she looked at Keith, who relented and took out one of the water pouches. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance took the pouch and unsealed his helmet, only to grimace and let out a few rattling coughs. “Jesus-- feels like breathing in knives. You’re sure there’s nothing toxic in this air?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Positive,” Pidge answered as Lance took his drink. “It’s just the temperature. Cold does that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way.” Lance coughed again, then sealed his helmet and passed the water to Pidge. “That’s crazy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve never been to Maine, have you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge followed the same coughing and hacking routine before handing the water back down the line to Keith. He waited for them to turn around again, back to their goal, then capped it and returned it to the bag. He hadn’t had any yet, and his mouth was bone dry, his throat aching, but he could hack it a little while longer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Honestly, going without wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was not act, just keep on with the rhythm of their march. Once Keith got into a rhythm, he could go on forever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or at least for another five minutes, before Lance’s commentary started up again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Patience yields focus. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The amount of light in the gray sky was unchanging, but when Pidge’s suit said they’d been walking for eight hours, they finally decided to make camp-- which essentially meant sitting down right where they were with groans of exhaustion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“God, my feet hurt,” moaned Lance, flopping over on his back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We know, Lance,” Pidge responded. She opened her visor to rub her eyes. “All of our feet hurt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Boy, did they ever. Keith’s legs hurt all the way up to the small of his back, which had become home to a deep ache. He’d allowed himself a few gulps of water during the last few hours of their walk, just enough to keep himself going. Now that he could finally sit down, he never thought he could feel so grateful for rocky dirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few minutes they all just lay there. Lance was sprawled out like a starfish. Pidge still had her knees propped up, but Keith could see that her eyes were closed in exhaustion. Keith was the only one who was still upright, and even that was just a technicality-- he was curled into a semi-circle, resting his head on his knees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a while the only sound was the wind whistling over the desolate plains. Eventually Lance stirred and asked, “Can we eat now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With great reluctance, Keith straightened up and dragged the supply bag into his lap. “Here,” he said, pulling out one of the food goo packets. “Share with Pidge.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, mom,” Lance said with a scoff before practically snatching the packet from his hand and tearing it open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you gonna eat?” Pidge asked as she sat up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There are more packs,” he answered as he slowly, painfully, got back to his feet. “I’ll eat some while I do a perimeter check.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance let out a short bark of laughter. “Perimeter? What perimeter? It’s totally flat around here. We’d see anything coming for miles.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better to be safe than sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance laughed again, but Keith ignored it as he walked away. It was a silly thing, admittedly, but walking a good enough distance from Lance and Pidge would disguise how he only took three or four bites of the goo. He was in the shaky stages after not eating all day, but he’d been there before. He could handle it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance wasn’t entirely right about the land being completely flat. There was a mountain range encircling the horizon, but it must’ve been far, as after an entire day’s walk they still weren’t any closer or more distinct. Only one particular mountain was-- the one that stood alone, seemingly in the center, like the pillar on a sundial. And, as it turned out, Pidge’s thin atmosphere spot was right on top of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It gave them a physical goal, at least. Walking for three days with no change in the landscape would have driven them all crazy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But this time Lance was right; nothing jumped out at them or anything. As far as Keith could tell, they were the only living things on the entire planet. So he headed back to the specks of color that were his teammates, his legs trembling from exertion, but the rest of him determined not to let it show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he got back to them Pidge was out cold, her helmeted head precariously balanced on Lance’s pauldron. Lance saw him coming and put one finger over his lips. A soft smile crept onto Keith’s lips, and he nodded, making sure his footsteps were quiet as he approached. He handed Lance one of the unfoldable foil blankets and settled down a few feet from them. He spread his blanket on the ground to lay on and curled up on his side; he’d give Pidge his blanket tomorrow night, but as long as she and Lance were sharing, it was probably alright for him to use it. Just this once. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith wanted to try and stay awake, maybe keep watch for a while or check over their supplies again, but even he had his limits. He was barely down for two minutes before the exhaustion rose up like a wave and swallowed him whole. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Fuuuuuuuuuck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can say that again.” Pidge sounded almost as anguished as Lance, their voices accompanied by shifting dirt and small sound of pain as they awoke the following morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuuuuuuuuuck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a groan of his own Keith pushed himself upright. Maybe morning wasn’t the right word-- the sky still looked exactly the same, and could there really be a morning if there was never a night?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All of me hurts,” said Pidge. She looked miserable, bags under her eyes and dust turning her white armor gray. Keith could only assume he looked the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He certainly felt the same. His entire body ached-- in particular his legs, which felt like they’d been filled with rocks, and his head, pounding like a war drum. That part was probably the dehydration, on which he also blamed the pain he felt when he swallowed, and how his lips stuck together when he closed them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It--” he tried to say, but had to pause to clear his throat. “It’ll pass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, you need some water,” Pidge said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t sound any different than she normally did in the morning, but Lance snapped, “Jeez, can you not be a drill sergeant for five minutes, Keith?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith just shook his head. He shouldn’t take it personally, they were all tired and sore and grumpy. But was it wrong of him to wish Lance wouldn’t take it out on him? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few more minutes of moping, Pidge crawled out from under the foil blanket and forced herself to stand. She staggered the few feet over to Keith, then plopped right back down again with a wince. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s for breakfast?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gee, I wonder,” he responded sarcastically as he held up another packet of goo. Pidge chuckled and took it from him with eager fingers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never thought I’d be excited for goo,” she said as she tore it open. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beggars can’t be choosers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The dirt crunched under Lance’s boots as he joined them, throwing himself to the ground with a huff. “It’s your fault we’re beggars in the first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you knock it off, Lance?” said Pidge. “It’s too damn early.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance rolled his eyes and griped, “Whatever. Eat faster, I want my portion.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith busied himself with his own meager breakfast. He allowed himself a couple gulps of water, then nibbled on the same goo pack he’d opened the night before. If he kept himself in check, he could give Lance and Pidge the last full packet that night, then the rest of his the next morning, enough for their final push to the solitary mountain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hopefully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the next twenty minutes or so there was quiet, broken only by their various hisses of discomfort from opening their helmets to the cold air. Then Keith and Pidge folded up the blankets and packed up their tiny camp (while Lance loitered in the background, claiming to be stretching out his legs), then the trio hit the proverbial road once more, Pidge’s one hour water timer ticking away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hours passed with nothing eventful. Lance babbled on about everything and nothing. Pidge was always staring at her gauntlet screen-- possibly at the map, but Keith wouldn’t be surprised if she’d programmed Pac-Man onto it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith mostly just zoned out. He let himself have a swallow of water every other hour, but it wasn’t enough to make his headache go away or make his mouth stop tasting like sand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he didn’t complain. He just kept going, one foot in front of the other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or he tried to, at least. Somewhere around hour five he started to stumble, his steps wavering as the world began to tilt at the edges. That should’ve been fine, he was still able to move forward, he didn’t need anyone to hold him up, but in the last hour or so Lance’s walking speed had decreased. Now, rather than marching in a straight line, Lance was walking next to Keith. So when a wave of dizziness came and made him step sideways, his armor clanked against Lance’s, knocking him ever so slightly off of his own course. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which for tired, cranky Lance, was one sidestep too far. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus, Keith!” he snapped. He gave Keith a rough shove, making him stumble for several steps before he got his vision straight again. “That’s, like, the fifth time you’ve run into me today! Can’t Shiro’s teacher’s pet walk in a straight fucking line?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith raised a hand to his helmet and ticked the volume down on his comms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t do it on purpose,” he grumbled. He had that same sparking irritation building in his chest too, but the rest of him didn’t have the energy to rise to Lance’s challenge. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure you didn’t,” scoffed Lance in disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tone was enough to get Keith a little riled, and he responded, “Yeah, not everyone is as petty and childish as you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a grunt of frustration, Lance stopped in his tracks and turned to face Keith, giving the Red Paladin’s shoulder another push to get him to do the same. “Say that to my face!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith whirled, disregarding the dizziness and ready to dive into the argument head first. But they’d both forgotten one very important thing-- they weren’t alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you kidding me right now?” Pidge exclaimed before Keith could retaliate. “We’re stranded on a goddamn deserted planet and you two decide to argue like a couple of cranky toddlers?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In his irritation, Keith very nearly answered with an extremely childish </span>
  <em>
    <span>he started it. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He started it!” Lance cried with an accusing point of his finger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith had never seen a mother’s exasperated, pissed off face, but he imagined it looked like the expression Pidge was making at them in that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not the point!” Pidge shouted back. “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>point </span>
  </em>
  <span>is that fighting is the last thing we should be doing right now! Christ, you two couldn’t get along if your lives depended on it, which they </span>
  <em>
    <span>do!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few seconds the only sound was the whistling of the wind. Keith closed his eyes and tried to take a breath, but it was hard to get a proper one when his stomach was trying to digest itself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, Pidge,” he mumbled eventually, staring down at his feet. He was so tired, his bones felt like they were made of lead, but they still had a long, long way to go. He couldn’t spare the energy to keep fighting with Lance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance just huffed and looked away crossly. That was as close to an apology as he would give, and Keith and Pidge knew that. So with all the eagerness of a funeral procession, their march resumed. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>When they stopped again to rest, the atmosphere around the group was strained and silent in the shadow of the mountain. Keith passed out the rations; Lance and Pidge were too exhausted to notice how he started unfolding the blankets instead of taking any for himself. He couldn’t afford to-- they would have enough water for the climb the next day, but just barely, and after this evening meal only a half of one goo packet would remain, which Lance and Pidge would have in the morning. Keith could only hope that they reached the top before the end of the day; any longer and their supplies would be exhausted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he got both foil blankets unfolded, Keith looked up and took stock. The weather of the planet was the same as ever. But tonight Lance and Pidge were sitting several feet away from each other, having finished the food and apparently not looking to socialize. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he deposited a blanket in front of each of them without a word. Lance took his and immediately laid on his side, his back to them. But Pidge looked up at him with a furrowed brow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith mustered his best attempt at a smile. Hopefully it didn’t look like a grimace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine. My suit can handle the cold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge twisted her mouth skeptically, but eventually decided she was too tired to continue the line of questioning and just gave a weary nod. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nodded back, then retreated to his spot and the bag containing their ever-dwindling supplies. His eyes burned, and as he laid down another dizzy spell overcame him, making him feel nauseatingly weightless despite the ground beneath his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking deep breaths while waiting for it to subside, Keith tried to reassure himself. Climbing a mountain when he felt like he was going to shake to pieces wasn’t something he was looking forward to-- hell, he’d be impressed if he even managed to get up in the morning. But he would keep up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t have any other choice. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Lance was just as surprised as you are when he found himself the first one awake. The gray sky was the same shade it had been for the last few days, but the clock on his gauntlet screen said it was morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t see either of their faces, but he was pretty certain that both of his teammates were still asleep. Pidge had completely vanished underneath her blanket, and Keith was curled into the smallest ball his armor would allow, unmoving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His first thought was to pull his blanket up and go back to sleep. Then his stomach growled, so loudly it made him jump.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, that settled that. Keith was still asleep, but Lance wasn’t about to ask for permission. Not from Mullet, of all people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he got up, careful not to let the blanket crinkle too much. Then, stealthily as a ninja, he crept over to where Keith lay sleeping, the supply bag not half a foot from his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Normally, Keith was a light sleeper. Lance learned that on week one, when he’d just walked past Keith’s room, talking at a completely normal volume, and summoned the Red Paladin like a bear woken from hibernation. But this time he looked exhausted, even more so than Pidge, and didn’t stir when Lance leaned over him to snatch up the bag. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Giving himself a mental pat on the back, he opened the bag with a flourish, eager to soothe his rumbling stomach. Then he looked inside and stopped dead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bag was nearly empty. Between all of the empty packages (thanks to Keith’s ridiculous ‘leave no trace’ rule), was only one water pouch, about three quarters full, and one goo packet, half empty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a second he just stood there, running the numbers in his head. They were supposed to have enough for all of them for three days. But what was left was nowhere near enough for all of them, even just for breakfast, not to mention the climb. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In Lance’s mind that left two possibilities: 1. The nonexistent wildlife had stolen some of their supplies, or 2. Keith had lied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Immediately a moment came to mind-- Keith’s unnecessary perimeter check on the first night. That must’ve been where the deception occurred. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance saw red. Clenching the bag in one fist, he stooped and began shaking Keith awake. It took a few seconds longer than he expected, but then he saw all of Keith’s muscles tense and knew he was awake; or close enough to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wake up, Mullet,” he said, not bothering to keep his voice down. “You’ve got some explaining to do!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith groaned a little as he peeled his eyes open. “Huh? What?” he mumbled, and flapped a hand to get Lance to stop shaking him. Usually Keith was alert the second he opened his eyes, a lot like Shiro, but for whatever reason, now he seemed groggy. Maybe it was all the walking they’d done. Or maybe it was an act. Lance wouldn’t put it past him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what,” Lance said as Keith sat up. He lifted his hands to his helmet, as though to rub his eyes, before realizing and dropping them again. “You know exactly what!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith shook his head hard, then looked up at Lance through narrowed eyes, like he was trying to stare at the sun. “What are you yelling about?” When he spoke his voice was rough and gravelly, but that wouldn’t buy him any sympathy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This!” cried Lance, thrusting the bag forward so that it hung over Keith’s head. “Have anything you want to tell us, Mullet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment Keith just looked at him, blinking slowly like an idiot, before slowly getting to his feet to look Lance in the eye. If he hadn’t been so focused on keeping up his glare, he might’ve noticed how Keith’s legs were shaking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know--” he had to stop and cough, “what you’re mad about, Lance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance scoffed, loudly enough that Pidge began to stir with a groan. “Yeah, like I’ll buy that. You’re a terrible liar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith scowled at him. He finally seemed awake enough to get pissed off, but his eyes never quite focused on Lance’s face-- a sure sign of his guilt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck,” Keith began, only to be cut off by Pidge as she staggered over to them, sleep and annoyance warring on her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell are you guys fighting about now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith opened his mouth, but Lance was always the faster talker. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keith’s been lying to us,” he declared, thrusting the bag in Pidge’s direction. “And taking more than his share.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” both Keith and Pidge said at the same time. Pidge grabbed the bag to look for herself while Keith stared at Lance, as though aghast that someone had caught him in his lie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See, Pidge? He said there was enough for all of us, but there’s barely any left!” Folding his arms, Lance pinned Keith with his best impression of Shiro’s ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’ stare. “I knew you weren’t a team player, Keith, but I never thought you could be this selfish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, Lance.” Pidge put a hand on his elbow. “We don’t know for sure that--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What else could it be?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno, have you asked?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance couldn’t believe his ears. It was so obvious, but still Pidge was on Keith’s side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you kidding me, Pidge? You’ve got to be kidding me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just saying, it might not be what you think--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance whirled, back to Keith, who still looked tired and disoriented. “Go on and admit it, Keith. Admit what you did and save us all the time and energy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith just looked at him, blinking fast now, and shook his head hard. “I… I don’t…” his words trailed off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m waiting!” said Lance, tapping his foot pointedly. Keith’s eyes slid out of focus, then he promptly collapsed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge squeaked in alarm and jolted forward, dropping the supply bag as she attempted to catch him, but she reacted too late and Keith hit the ground hard on his butt. Even through his tinted visor Lance could see how pale he’d gone and the bruise-purple bags under his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s faking! </span>
  </em>
  <span>cried the vindictive voice in Lance’s brain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t fall for it!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Keith said, but his words were slurred. “I’m-- ‘M fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re not,” Pidge responded as she dropped to her knees beside him. “What’s going on, Keith?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head again, but gave no answer. Lance just stood there, unsure of how to act. The possibility of an act still remained, but he’d just remembered what it looked like when Keith actually tried to fake something, and the thing was that he’s absolute shit at it. He could never pull off something like this, he sucked at pretending or lying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Which means… </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a sound of frustration, Pidge grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled up his gauntlet screen. Over her shoulder Lance could see the red letters emblazoned on the screen; Dehydration: CRITICAL, Nourishment: LOW. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which meant… Lance was the biggest asshole on the planet. Admittedly not a high bar for a planet with three people on it, but that didn’t stop the guilt from setting in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, out with it,” Pidge said. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith turned his head away from her, trying to escape from her gaze, but Pidge wasn’t having it. She studied him for a moment, then said, “There was never enough to begin with, was there? There wasn’t enough for the trip, so you decided to starve yourself rather than ask us to ration.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did ration it,” Keith protested. He braced an elbow on his knee and leaned his forehead into his hand, squeezing his eyes shut tight like he was struggling to think. “I did, I just-- we had to get to the mountain, and I’m used to-- I knew I could handle it, so--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, and you thought we couldn’t?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I just--” His voice cracked. Lance couldn’t tell if it was from dehydration, or if Keith was so out of it he was literally about to cry. “You guys have to eat, so--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you don’t?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith’s face crumpled behind his visor. Lance stepped forward and lightly touched Pidge’s shoulder, to which she responded by sighing and standing back up, leaving Keith ducking his head like a shamed schoolkid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s too sick to keep going,” Pidge said as she turned to Lance. Her expression was one of frazzled frustration, which he couldn’t fault her for. “You stay with him, and I’ll--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Keith said before she could finish. He made an attempt to stand, but only managed to rise a few inches before crumbling back to the ground. “Lance should go with you. Something could happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” answered Pidge bluntly. “Lance, make sure he eats and drinks whatever’s left. I’ll get up the mountain and signal the others.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pidge--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope, you’ve forfeited your right to make decisions. I’m in charge now. Any problem, Lance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance shook his head. He couldn’t think of anything to say-- he was still too busy trying to understand what was happening. Keith had been going without food and water for the last two days, had let himself get to the point of collapse, and now he was the one who was supposed to convince Keith to eat?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jesus-- it would’ve been easier if Keith had actually been eating more and lying-- at least then Lance could feel good about it. But, no, he was stuck with this… this discomfort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.” Pidge opened the screen on her gauntlet and tapped a few buttons. “Ok, I’m gonna head out. Make sure Keith at least drinks some water.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok,” Lance murmured. “Be careful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge nodded, then without another word, turned resolutely to the mountain and set off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance waited until he couldn’t hear her footsteps anymore before even looking at Keith. He was still on the ground, resting his forehead on his knees. Lance took a few seconds to build himself up, then walked over to Keith and, after a moment’s hesitation, sat down beside him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith didn’t answer. Pursing his lips, Lance dragged the supply bag over to them and fished out the last pouch of water. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here,” he said, holding it out. When he didn’t take it, Lance sighed and tacked on, “You heard Pidge.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith raised his head, but didn’t take the water or even turn to look. Instead he said, ever so quietly, “It’s really not a big deal, you know. I’ve had worse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance sighed and put the pouch down. “Of course you have.” He didn’t mean to sound dismissive, but Keith hunched his shoulders in anyway and let out a shaky sigh. At this proximity Lance could see how strung out he was-- Lance himself knew how unstable he felt if he missed a couple of meals in a row, he could only imagine how Keith felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just trying to look out for you guys,” he continued with a tiny sniffle. “Like I used to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That gave Lance a puzzled frown. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith shrugged his shoulders. “As a kid, in the group homes. There were always too many of us, and the older kids, the bigger kids, always got to the food first. But there were little kids too, and nobody was looking out for them. So if I got something and they didn’t, I’d just…” he shrugged again, like it was no big deal, like Lance wasn’t tearing up listening to him. “Try to do the right thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Keith, that’s…” he couldn’t think of what to say. There was a joke somewhere in there, something about malnutrition and how small Keith was, but even he knew that it was not the time for it. “Look, you don’t need my permission. You don’t need to earn it. And right now, you’re the one who needs it more. So, please,” he picked up the pouch and offered it again, “please drink the water before Pidge comes back and bites my head off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a ghost of a smile on his lips, Keith finally accepted the water pouch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He didn’t intend on saying anything more, but suddenly he blurted out, “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith opened his visor, hissing at the cold wind. “For what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He really didn’t want to have this conversation, not now when Keith could keel over any minute, but he’d already shot himself in the foot. Might as well finish it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For yelling at you. And calling you selfish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith took a short drink from the pouch and swallowed gingerly, like it was painful, before muttering, “It’s fine. Anybody else would’ve thought the same thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pidge didn’t,” Lance pointed out with a frown, but Keith just shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know how she is. Doesn’t accept anything without evidence.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and obviously we-- Or I, I guess, should do that more often.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith still wouldn’t look at him. Just took another sip of water, which Lance supposed was better than talking, anyway. But something about the conversation still bothered him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a few more minutes of sitting in silence, but eventually it dawned on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to make excuses for me, Keith. I know I screwed up. I’m sorry, really.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a sigh, Keith set the water pouch aside and leaned his chin on his arms, propped up on his drawn up knees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you it’s fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s not, is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith made a noise of frustration and closed his eyes. “What do you want me to say, Lance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing.” He shook his head, irritated with himself. Usually he was good at communicating, but with Keith it always felt like there was a wall between them, blocking every attempt. “Just… sometimes we say things are fine when they’re not, because we think the person doesn’t really mean it, and it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t bother you when you think it won’t change. But I mean it. I really do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a second, Keith didn’t answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then in a quiet, quiet voice, he said, “Ok.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Pidge sniffled and cursed her helmet for preventing her from wiping the tears from her cheeks-- and it wasn’t from sheer gratitude of reaching the base of the mountain. Their signals couldn’t breach the atmosphere, but underneath the clouds the comms worked just fine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she didn’t have time to be sad over Keith’s shitty childhood. She had to get up high enough for her signal to get through to the Castle, or his adulthood wouldn’t turn out much better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So she kept climbing. Truthfully, the rock formation was more of a large hill than a mountain, but even that was proving difficult after three days of walking. Still she moved forward, keeping one eye on the signal as she climbed higher, higher, higher, until she reached the summit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The top of the hill was broad and round, smoothed by the constant wind. For probably the five hundredth time since the crash, Pidge opened her interface and tried to send out an S.O.S signal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At first it didn’t work, just flashing that infuriating red that meant failure. But she kept trying, walking in circles around the summit until eventually, at long last, it lit up green. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” she cheered, indulging herself in a little victory dance. “Yes, finally!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The comms buzzed in her ear before Lance’s voice came through. “Did the signal get through?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup,” answered Pidge with a self-congratulatory grin. “The screen says the Castle got it. All we have to do now is wait.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance gave a sigh of relief. “Great. I was getting sick of all this dust. Gray isn’t my color.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge laughed. For a few moments she was able to forget about how sore she was and the drama that would await when the others found out about what Keith did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few moments, she was just happy to be going home. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Happy wasn’t enough to describe how Lance felt when he saw the Yellow and Black Lions break through the cloud cover. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yellow roared overhead, heading for the mountain behind them, and Black kicked up a hell of a dust storm as she touched down a safe distance from where the two of them were sitting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance got to his feet and waved gaily to the Lion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ecstatic. Ecstatic was the word he was looking for. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shiro!” he cried when the Black Lion’s ramp rolled out. “Holy shit, am I glad to see you, man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro descended the ramp quickly and jogged over to them. Even from a distance Lance could feel the concern rolling off of him in waves, and it matched his expression when he reached them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lance, Keith!” Shiro held out a hand, and when Lance took it, surprised him by pulling him into a quick hug. “Are you guys ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I mean, I am, but--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re fine,” Keith interrupted. He’d managed to stand without falling, still holding the half-full water pouch. Lance had been able to make him eat the rest of the food goo and a little water, but even after being called on his bullshit, he was still a stubborn bastard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a lie,” Lance answered, earning himself a glare. “But it can wait until we get back to the Castle, I think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, ok?” Shiro flicked his eyes from Lance to Keith, and immediately the worry returned. “Woah, Keith--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Keith’s voice was practically a snarl. Shiro’s eyebrows rose, not in surprise or offense, but in realization, before his expression settled into solemnity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, let’s get moving, then.” Then, into the comms, “Hunk, did you get Pidge?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup,” answered Hunk. “We’re heading back to the Castle now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eyes Lance saw the Yellow Lion as it took flight, and all of a sudden found himself itching to get home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on,” he said eagerly. “Let’s go, slowpokes!” He took off for the ramp at a run-- partly out of his enthusiasm, it was true, but partly just in case Keith needed help walking. He’d never allow it if Lance was there to see. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once inside the Lion, Lance stopped and took his helmet all the way off for the first time in days. His hair was sticky with sweat and lying at strange angles, aching at the root when he combed a dusty hand through it, and his ears felt hollow with the lack of wind filling them. It wasn’t Blue, but even so Lance felt comforted, being back in a Lion again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A chuckle came from behind him. He turned to see Shiro and Keith, the former the one laughing, the latter half way through pulling away from Shiro’s support. Lance pretended not to notice and asked, “What’s so funny?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blue missed you too,” Shiro answered, making Lance’s cheeks warm before he looked down at Keith. “And Red could hardly stand still. She kept us all up a night with all of her pacing in the hangar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That got Keith to smile as he, too, took off his helmet. His helmet hair looked even worse than Lance’s felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok,” said Shiro, shouldering past Lance towards the pilot seat. “Let’s get out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The flight back took all of two seconds. Allura had parked as close to the planet as possible, so they were cruising into Black’s hangar before Lance could do so much as sit down. Keith didn’t say anything as they disembarked, but he did laugh a little to himself and shake his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Lance said. Keith blinked and looked at him like he’d forgotten Lance was there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, nothing. Red’s yelling at me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lance snorted. “As she should be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then they stepped into the hallway, and Lance got caught in Hunk’s tackle hug, and just like that, the stress of the last three days melted away. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Keith was in trouble, and he knew it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe it was the lingering hunger and exhaustion that made him feel it so strongly, but Shiro’s watchful gaze was boring holes in his skin, the memory of Pidge’s angry words weighed on him like stones, and Red’s upset growls echoed in his skull. He wasn’t going to be able to dodge this particular lecture, and he looked forward to it with the utmost dread. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a relief when he shut himself in his room to change. The darkness was comforting after the same light level for the last three days, and taking off his armor, peeling off the flight suit underneath, was the best feeling he’d had in recent memory. The suit left deep red grooves behind in his skin that he rubbed away along with the dirt in the bathroom before getting dressed in his blessedly normal clothes. What he really wanted was a warm shower, but there wasn’t time. Shiro was probably waiting outside already. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure enough, the Black Paladin was waiting in the hallway, leaning against the wall across from Keith’s door with his arms crossed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith didn’t say anything when he emerged. Shiro only said one word, “Infirmary,” and jerked his head to indicate Keith should follow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first few seconds neither of them said anything. Keith trailed a hand along the wall as they walked, trying to be subtle about how his legs were shaking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pidge told me what happened,” said Shiro, finally beginning the dreaded conversation. “Is she right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith sighed. “Yeah.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro hummed but didn’t say anything else, and Keith cringed internally. Whenever Shiro put this much consideration into what he was going to say, you knew you’d fucked up. Which Keith definitely, definitely had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking back, it probably wasn’t the most rational decision. But at the time it had honestly seemed like the best choice. The only choice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The infirmary was already up and running when they arrived. Coran was digging through the infirmary storage, looking for something. Pidge was beside him with a tablet in hand, talking quickly, most likely reading out the scan from Keith’s suit. Great. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He shouldn’t just chug a bunch of water,” she was saying as he and Shiro approached. “It might make him vomit all of it back up again. Do you have the stuff for an IV?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Coran let out an offended </span>
  <em>
    <span>harrumph. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“You humans and your acronyms! Can’t you just pronounce the entire phrase like civilized people?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith could hear Pidge rolling her eyes. “It stands for intravenous, it’s when you stick a needle in them and give them medications and nutrients through the vein.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Coran yelped, so loudly it made Pidge jump. “Through the vein? How barbaric!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I assume you have something better?” asked Pidge with a tone steeped in annoyance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I do! I just have to find it, is all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge scoffed, and only then did she seem to notice Shiro and Keith standing a few feet away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should go sit,” she said. “This could take a while.” She wouldn’t quite meet Keith’s eye, but that was fine-- he was avoiding her’s, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Come on, Keith,” said Shiro, bumping his elbow to get his attention. Keith turned to follow, but only halfway across the room to the cots, Pidge called out to stop them and scurried over. Her cheeks were flushed, but the awkwardness between her and Keih wasn’t enough to keep her from speaking up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, Keith, can I talk to you for a minute?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Shiro answered for him, and before Keith could say anything, walked off. It didn’t matter-- Keith was resigned to his fate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge didn’t waste any time. “Look,” she said, talking fast as though she wanted to get it over with, “I know that I was pretty harsh out there, but-- I’m not mad at you, ok?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith tried not to react, but Pidge still detected his skepticism. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I mean it. I wasn’t mad then, either. I was scared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith frowned. “Scared?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With an expression of exasperation, Pidge gave his arm a little shove. “For you, idiot! Have you looked in a mirror yet? You look like you’re going to fall over any moment-- not to mention the fact that you actually did fall over! You’re my friend, is it really so surprising that I care about your health?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he said back, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “But it was fine. We got where we needed to go, and I didn’t die or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge pressed her lips together. She said she wasn’t mad, but she certainly looked that way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just because it didn’t become a worst-case scenario doesn’t mean you should make yourself suffer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Better me than you, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought, but bit his tongue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pidge sighed and pushed her hands under her glasses. She looked so tired. “Just… don’t do that anymore, ok?” When her hands fell, the bags under her eyes were triple stacked. “Don’t make me see you drop like that again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unexpectedly, Keith’s throat closed up. Something about the look on her face, the combination of weariness and worry, made guilt build in his stomach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aha! Here it is!” Coran emerged from the cabinets, victorious and carrying some clear sheets of plastic (or the Altean equivalent) with blobs of blue all over them. “Hydration patches! You won’t believe where they were hiding!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While he was talking, Pidge took the opportunity to slip away, leaving Keith to be escorted to the cots by Coran. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get you fixed up in no time, my boy. Jacket off, please.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith reluctantly peeled his jacket from his shoulders and handed it off to Shiro. Coran proceeded to peel and stick four of the patches onto Keith’s biceps. They felt like band-aids, but soft and malleable in the center, like they were filled with jelly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leave these on for a varga or so,” said Coran, “Then we’ll switch them out. By morning you should be in tip-top shape.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do I have to sleep here?” Keith asked, and groaned when Coran nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not so bad,” Coran scolded. “Now, I believe you and Shiro have a conversation to have.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, we do,” said Shiro, and wrapped a hand around Keith’s wrist to make him sit beside him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith kept his eyes on the floor and held his breath. Maybe it was still the impact of the last three days, but he felt terrifyingly like a 13-year-old kid again, sitting outside a commander’s office and waiting to be discarded again, like the broken, pitiful orphan he was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro sat forward with a sigh and leaned his elbows on his knees. “You know what I’m going to say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Biting the inside of his cheek, Keith nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In situations like that, you can’t be a martyr. You think that sacrificing yourself makes the team stronger, but it doesn’t. All you did was make yourself a liability.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith winced on the inside, but externally didn’t react. He’d learned that much, at least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if something had happened? Instead of having three slightly tired Paladins, you would’ve had two, distracted by a sick teammate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith took a slow, careful breath. His gut was all tangled up in knots, his eyes were burning, his tongue thick in his mouth. Shiro was right, of course. In trying to make himself less of a burden, all he did was make himself a bigger one, wasting time, energy, and medical supplies. God, when would he learn?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he murmured when Shiro remained silent for several seconds. “I didn’t mean to be selfish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro sighed, and Keith kicked himself for the word choice. That word had come to him from his fight with Lance, but using it now just made him seem like he was grasping for pity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant.” Having delivered his message, Shiro’s voice now softened. “Just…” He turned and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Think of it this way. Voltron is made up of five Lions, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five. Not four, not three. Five. Without you, Voltron doesn’t exist. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith’s breath caught in his throat. When was the last time he’d heard that? Had he ever?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro must’ve felt his body tense, as he squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you want to protect everyone. But you can’t help anyone without helping yourself first. To a certain degree, the universe depends on it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith huffed at that, but still couldn’t manage to look away from his boots. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not in trouble. You just need to take better care of yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can,” Keith found himself answering. “When it’s just me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro scooted closer to him, turning it into a proper hug. Normally he might’ve pretended that the touch didn’t affect him, but that required far more energy than he had. So he let himself melt into Shiro’s side, letting him rest his chin on top of Keith’s head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Taking care of them doesn’t have to mean hurting yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith wasn’t so sure about that. That dark little voice still lurked at the back of his mind, the one that whispered he wasn’t good enough, that he would never be wanted, unless he tore out pieces of himself and gave them away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But for now, at least, he was tired. He said as much to Shiro, who chuckled and gave him another squeeze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Let’s get ready for bed, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keith raised his eyebrows. “‘Let’s’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro smirked at him. “You didn’t think I’d make you stay here all night by yourself, did you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that, Keith allowed himself a smile. “No, I guess not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shiro gave him a warm smile and another squeeze before standing up to drag another cot over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last three days had definitely sucked. But right now, even Keith had to admit; life wasn’t so bad in the Castle of Lions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
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